Economic Indicators For June Show Across-The-Board Declines

Thoroughbred racing economic indicators released by Equibase Saturday showed that last month's wagering, purses, race days, races, and starts were down from June 2014 levels.

Wagering in June took the slightest dip, down less than half a percent from last year's levels. The sharpest decrease was in June starts; there were 28,763 starts last month as compared to 31,368 in June 2014, down 8.30 percent.

There was one area of growth: in second-quarter statistics, wagering was up 3.52 percent from 2014 levels. All other second-quarter stats, however, showed declines.

Statistics for the year-to-date were all down as well.

Economic indicators for June 2015 (charts courtesy Equibase):

June 2015 vs. June 2014
Indicator	June 2015	June 2014	% Change
Wagering on U.S. Races*	$925,512,755	$927,683,726	-0.23%
U.S. Purses	$96,884,024	$104,516,868	-7.30%
U.S. Race Days	497	528	-5.87%
U.S. Races	3,893	4,225	-7.86%
U.S. Starts	28,763	31,368	-8.30%
2nd QTR 2015 vs. 2nd QTR 2014
Indicator	2nd QTR 2015	2nd QTR 2014	% Change
Wagering on U.S. Races*	$3,055,547,544	$2,951,674,063	+3.52%
U.S. Purses	$291,707,804	$297,979,123	-2.10%
U.S. Race Days	1,368	1,410	-2.98%
U.S. Races	11,072	11,600	-4.55%
U.S. Starts	82,550	86,277	-4.32%
YTD 2015 vs. YTD 2014
Indicator	YTD 2015	YTD 2014	% Change
Wagering on U.S. Races*	$5,479,192,872	$5,507,622,288	-0.52%
U.S. Purses	$494,340,164	$513,423,392	-3.72%
U.S. Race Days	2,283	2,386	-4.32%
U.S. Races	18,805	19,969	-5.83%
U.S. Starts	144,699	150,232	-3.68%

* Includes worldwide commingled wagering on U.S. races.